Jamaica, UNESCO host adult education conference

Minister of Education, Youth & Information Senator Ruel Reid, Caribbean Education Ministers and senior education experts will gather in Montego Bay, St James from June 30 to July 1, 2016 for the UNESCO Confintea VI.

The meeting will be under the theme 'Enhancing Lifelong Learning Opportunities for Youth and Adults'.

Katherine Grigsby, Director, UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean will also address the gathering underscoring the need for multi-sectoral and international cooperation to secure national and regional educational goals.

As a critical activity in multilateral cooperation, all the participants will use the two-day event to refine policies, strategies and targets to address the issues of youth education and empowerment across the region. Participants will also use the opportunity to review country experiences in policy and execution which are set to include presentations from the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning regarding its Career Advancement Programme (CAP) and High School Diploma Equivalency (HSDE) programmes.

Some of the key objectives for the meeting include assessment of progress in literacy and educational outcomes using the Belém Framework for Action; review and analysis of successful examples of youth and adult learning policies; examination of priority areas for technical assistance or the development of capacities in the Caribbean and alignment of literacy and adult education priorities with the Belem Framework for Action.